Improvement in car-couplings



E. P HOWLAND.`

Car Coupling. No. 39,927.; l Patentedl Sept. l5. 1863.

NA PErERS. PHOTO-UTHOGRAPHER. WASHINGTON. Dv C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEETCE.

EDWARD P. HULAND, OF VORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN CAR-COUPLINGS.

Specification formingpart of Letters Patent No. 39,927, dated September l5, 1863.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, EDWARD P. HOWLAAND, ot' Worcester, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts. have invented a new and Improved Car-Coupling; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description ofthe same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a longitudinal vertical section of my invention, taken in the line .r x, Fig. 2; Fig. 2, a plan or top view of the same.

. Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the two figures.

This invention relates to an improved carcoupling of that class which are commonly termed self'couplingg7 and it consists in the employment or use of a combined weight and pin, in combination with a sliding pin-support and two springs, all arranged in such a manner that the link is enabled to secure itself in the draw-head when forced therein and retained in a horizontal position when in one draw head only, and the link prevented from being bent in case ofthe adjoining drawheuds of two cars coming in contact.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct my invention, I will proceed to describe it.

A A represents the draw heads of two cars. These draw-heads may be ot' the usual or an approximate form. Each draw-head has a rectangular slide or bar, B, fitted vertically iu it, and allowed to slide freely up and down, and to the upper surface of each drawhead a vertical plate, C, is attached, in which a slot, a, is made vertically, and through which pins or screws b pass into the upper partsl of the bar B, said pins and screws serving as stops for the bars B. Each barB is provided at its lower end with a projecting pin, c, which,

.when the bars B are fully down, tit in recesses d in the bottoms of the draw-heads, as shown in one of the draw-heads in Fig. l. In each draw-head A there is a slide, D, to which a rod, E, is attached. rlhese rods E extend Within boxes F in the draw-heads, and the inner ends of said rods are fitted loosely in guides or bearings e in the boxes F. On each rod E there is tted a spiral spring, G, the front ends of which bea-r against pins f in the rods E, and the back ends bear against the guides or bearings e, as shown clearly in Fig. 1. In the back part of each box E there is fitted a rod, H. rIhe front ends of these rods are fitted in the guides or bearings e, and their back ends are tted in bearings g in the backs ofthe boxes F and draw-heads. On each rod H there is placed a spiral spring, I. The front ends ot' these springs bear against pins h iu the rods H, and the back ends bear against the back parts of the boxes F. 'lhese springs l are considerably thicker, heavier, or stronger than the springs Gr, as shown clearly in Fig. l. The boxes F completely inclose the springs, and ett'ectually protect them from the Weather. 'lhe boxes may be secured in the drawheads by having their back ends iilled in recesses c in the backs ofthe draw-heads and their front parts secured by screwsj.v When the bars B are raised, the springs G will keep the slides D forced outward underneath the bars B, so as to keep them in an elevated state, as shown in one ot' the draw-heads in Fig. When the link J is shoved into one of the draw-heads, the slide D thereof is forced back, the spring G yielding, and the bar B falls upon the link, the pin passing through the link into the recess d. rIhe rod E, in being thus forced back', just comes in contact with the end of the rod H, as shown in Fig. 1, but does not pass against it. The link J is held in a horizontal position by the bar B, and when the empty draw-head approaches the one containing the link, the other will be in line with the former, and the slide D of the empty draw-head Will be forced back, the spring I ofthe draw-head containing the link on account of being stronger than the springs G, causing the latter behind the moving slide to yield, thereby allowing the bar B to drop and the pin c to pass through the link. 'Ihe springs I, Where the draw-heads are connected, admit of the slides D yielding under the irregular movement of the cars, and thereby prevent the link being bent, and said springs also prevent violent concussions, which would otherwise ensue in case of the draw-heads coming together.

I do not claim a drop-pin and a sliding support therefor, for that is an old and well-known device; but

I do claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. The construction of the drop-bar B with extremity, as herein shown and described, so that said pin c will pztss through and look the connecting-link, While the flattened portion will press upon, and by its Weight maintain the link in a horizontal position, all as set forth.

2. The employment in each draw-head of a iiattened portion, and n pin, c, upon its lower two separate springs, G I, ot' unequal tension,

. operating in the manner substantially as and for the purpose herein shown and described.

EDW. P. HOWLAND.

Witnesses:

STEPHEN P. TWIss, S. A. HOWLAND. 

